A progressive outlook on politics in Australia and abroad

Confidence

They also have every confidence that Santa Claus is going to bring them a My Little Pony playset for Christmas:

THE Federal Government has declared its full support for Australian Federal Police (AFP) Commissioner Mick Keelty, who is facing mounting pressure over the Mohamed Haneef case.

What strikes me about this is that it comes before the inquiry into the Haneef case has concluded. Wouldn’t it make sense to actually wait and find out what happened before deciding it’s nothing to worry about?

The most cynical part of me wonders whether the issue is that directing any blame toward Keelty might reduce the extent to which it can be thrown at Kevin Andrews et al. I hope that’s not it. And I do accept the point that Keelty and the AFP shouldn’t be judged by the Haneef case alone – there have been recent successes in federal law enforcement relating to drugs, child porn, etc.

But this was a case that had a stink to it from the start. It then fell to pieces. And then it took more than a year for the AFP to officially conclude their investigations of Haneef, while they attempted to keep their explanations away from the public and information from other agencies conflicted with their assertions. And Keelty appeared to be at the front of the investigation and communication about the case, until it fell apart. As I noted last week, he hasn’t taken the same approach to dispensing with Haneef as a suspect.

It deserves thorough scrutiny, and it would seem appropriate for the Government to hold off on making any proclamations of support or disapproval until the evidence is in.

ELSEWHERE:Tim Dunlop wonders what it would take to lose the Government’s confidence. There’s also a piece in Crikey today suggesting Keelty has to go.